The 13-year political journey of former BCCI chief AnuragThakur, who retained BJP's bastion in Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh for thefourth consecutive time in 2019, is full of struggle, patience and thorns, butnot as short-lived as his stint with the national cricket body.
In a mega Cabinet revamp on Wednesday, Thakur, theMinister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs, was elevated, along withothers.
Since his maiden electoral victory in May 2008Parliamentary by-poll at the age of 34, Thakur, who served the Himachal PradeshCricket Association (HPCA) as its president for four straight terms since 2000,has been targeted by his rivals for being too high-profile and jet-setting.
In every Parliamentary election, Hamirpur has beenwitnessing more aggressive campaigning as compared to the other three Lok Sabhaconstituencies in the state -- Shimla (reserved), Kangra and Mandi, politicalobservers said.
Popularly known as 'Raja Saab', Virbhadra Singh, whohelmed six Congress governments in the state, did not leave any stone unturnedto wrest the Hamirpur seat, a stronghold of the Dhumal family.
Singh's archrival and two-time BJP Chief Minister PremKumar Dhumal had devoted his maximum time and energy in the constituency to ensurevictory for his son, Anurag Thakur.
In 2019, Thakur, a sharp strategist and youth icon whohad served the party's youth wing as its President for seven years, won the LokSabha polls by a record margin of 3.87 lakh votes, defeating his nearest rival fromthe Congress, Ram Lal Thakur.
A cricket-related legal attack by the previous Congressgovernment against the Dhumal family had caught it on a sticky wicket for atleast five years.
But Thakur, who played a crucial role in stitching BJP'spost-poll alliance with his friend Dushyant Chautala's JJP in Haryana, believesit to be a clear case of political vendetta.
"During his earlier tenures as Chief Minister, he(Virbhadra Singh) did all the damage to the HPCA (Himachal Pradesh CricketAssociation). He even raised a parallel cricket association which failed. Nolaw of the land has been violated by the HPCA. Cases against it were onlypolitical in nature and we came out clean from various courts," Thakur hadtold IANS.
He always blames the vendetta politics of the Congressthat forced him to enter politics.
Political observers told IANS that Thakur, whenever hegets time from his busy political schedule in Delhi, prefers to devote his timeand energy in his constituency.
Also, Thakur's dedication to cricket saw him createmodern infrastructure in the small hill state.
He has to his credit developing five stadia, includingthe world-class showpiece stadium in Dharamsala, and two cricket academies --one in Shimla and the other in Dharamsala. The HPCA is currently providingsupport to more than 500 players.
The Rs 100 crore stadium in Dharamsala first figured onthe international cricket map in 2005 when it hosted a warm-up tie between thetouring Pakistan team and the Indian Board President's XI.
The HPCA has also developed the Luhnu ground, which isringed by backwaters of the Bhakra Dam in Bilaspur, besides developing theAmtar, Gumma and Una grounds.
After the Congress formed the government in the state inDecember 2012, the vigilance and anti-corruption bureau had filed a case ofcheating and misappropriation of funds against the HPCA, the cricket bodyThakur was heading.
The government had also alleged wrongdoing in theallotment of land to the HPCA for constructing a residential complex for playersnear the Dharamsala stadium, some 250 km from the state capital.
The state later got the sanction to initiate proceedingsagainst two-time Chief Minister Dhumal for allotting the land during his regimeto the HPCA, which was led by his son Thakur.
The vigilance department had also booked Thakur and hisyoungest brother Arun Dhumal for allegedly grabbing land near Dharamsala byforging revenue records.
Most of the cases were disposed of by various courts.
Elated over the elevation of Thakur, HPCA convenor MohitSood told IANS that his innings as the BCCI chief was shot-lived.
"Had he got the opportunity to serve the nationalcricket body for longer time like the HPCA, he would have definitely createdwonders for the game."
At the age of 25, Thakur was elected the HPCA president,the youngest to head a state cricket association affiliated to the BCCI.
Thakur's cricketing journey began at the age of 14 as aplayer. He had led the Punjab U-16 team that won the Vijay Merchant Trophy.